


Shadows of Yesterday

by Jazzy_Kandra



Category: Tales of Zestiria
Genre: Found Family, I'm joining sormik week late because I didn't know about it, M/M, SorMik, Sorey doesn't show up but the lack of his presence is felt, Sormik Week 2018, Vaguely based on 8/16's writing prompt pride or fog
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-17
Updated: 2018-08-17
Packaged: 2019-06-28 14:33:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15709167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jazzy_Kandra/pseuds/Jazzy_Kandra
Summary: Mikleo returns to Elysia for the first time after Sorey fell asleep, luckily, he did not come alone.





	Shadows of Yesterday

Mikleo took years—a few decades, really—to return to Elysia after Gramps had died and Sorey had fallen asleep to purify the Maotelus. He claimed, when asked, that he was just too busy helping Rose, hunting hellions, purifying the land so that Sorey could come back to him again. So that he might hear his voice, hold his hand, kiss his face if he would just let him. They hadn’t gotten to that before Sorey had left, they hadn’t gotten to a _lot_ of things because fate cut Sorey off from him. If he scratched at the old would, crusty and scabbed over though it was, it still bleed. It still hurt. It did not matter how long it had been.

All that part knew was Sorey had left him. That anything to do with Sorey _hurt_. So, he had stayed away from this place. He had focused on work, on the motions of living a life without his kindhearted Shepherd. Thus, he had constructed a barricade of ice to protect the still young water seraph with his broken heart. He had stayed away from this place, his home, because on its green hills, he saw shadows of yesterday. Shades of the past clung to the grass, to the trees, to the houses. Bygone days replayed in his mind: tussles and scraps on valley and hill, two boys playing planks on unsuspecting seraphim, reading the Celestial Record and eating ripe peaches with his favorite person in the world…

Mikleo clinched his fists, he hated this place.

_Why did I come back?_

“I don’t know,” said a dry voice next to him, a short seraph in a bright yellow dress and large boots. Edna had put on a few inches since they had journeyed with Sorey, since, he supposed, they had defeated her brother, but little else had seemed to change. She was still the same abrasive seraph, an ever present annoyance in times of trouble. Edna twirled her red and gold parasol, a sign that she was thinking, however. Mikleo sighed, turning back to look through the stone arch that lead to Elysium. He hadn’t meant to say that aloud. “I think you needed to, that’s why.”

Wordlessly, he raised an eyebrow.

“You know, you were more fun when you used to talk,” she said. “Now you’ve gone all Silenceo.”

Mikleo couldn’t help it, he lifted a hand to cover one side of his face, but he did stymie the groan that tried to escape. “Why did you decide to come with me again?”

A smirk crossed her lips. Edna tilted her umbrella towards him, blocking his view of most of her head. “It’s a mystery.”

“Wonderful.”

“Isn’t it?” she said, gaze shifting to houses and seraphim of Elysium itself. “Now it will nag at the back of your mind the whole time we’re here. Speaking of here…”

“Hmmm?”

“Shouldn’t we actually _enter_ Elysium?” she asked. Fear ignited in his gut, quickly, he doused with a spout of cold water. “They’ve probably missed you.”

“I…know…,” he whispered, feeling small. His feet stood still, frozen to the ground beneath him. “I can’t.”

She closed her umbrella and placed it on the earth. Slowly, she lifted her head. “If you’re not ready, we don’t have to.”

He blinked. He had expected her to push him to go through with it, to mock him for his inaction. He wasn’t sure what to make of this, though.

“What?”

“But when you’re ready, we’ll do it,” she said, steel in her voice, the earth rumbling faintly beneath her feet. “No one should have to face their past alone.”

Mikleo nodded, realizing now why she had insisted on coming. She understood, even though she hid that understanding behind a mask of sarcasm and acerbity. It wasn’t so different than his own guise, hiding something else beneath. He hadn’t expected such kindness, such depth of insight, Gramps would have reminded him that every person was always more profound than they first appeared.

“I think I can go now,” he said, stepping forward, Edna beside him. She put her umbrella back on her shoulder and snapping it open once more. “Thank you, Edna.”

“Don’t mention it,” she said, then added more quietly, “we’ll family.”

Family. A sister. That was a strange thought. It hadn’t occurred to him until now that he had one.

He caught himself smiling despite the fog of memories he saw on top of the grassy hills, inside the houses, and on the faces of seraphim he had not spoken to in years. They embraced him and asked about his travels, speaking of Sorey and Gramps as well, plodding the wound, but not breaking the scab. It still pained him to speak of the past, to be in Elysium without the both of them there…but the grief wasn’t so impossible to bare.

Until they arrived in front of the home that had once belonged to Sorey. It was dark, unused, untouched. For a moment, the pain gnawed at his insides, but he pushed it down. He had to do this. He had come this far, despite himself. After all, this was why he had originally came, to take care and organize Sorey’s things, to make sure this house was ready for when Sorey returned. It was a job he had put off long enough. Mikleo reached for the door handle, but found an umbrella in front of the door.

“You’re not ready for that yet,” she said, stepping into his line of sight. “Don’t try.”

“I’ll be fine.”

She leaned her back against the door, placing her umbrella on the ground beside her and handle against the doorframe. “Uh huh,” Edna said, folding her arms against her chest. “If you go in there now, you’ll just kneel on the ground, surrounded by Sorey’s…books, maps, and things, and won’t be able to do anything but stare blankly at the stupid treasure he hung on the wall. You’ll be—“

“Stuckeo,” he supplied, dryly.

“I wasn’t going to make _that_ joke,” she said. “This takes time, Mikleo.”

“Speaking from experience?” he snapped, anger and grief laced into his voice. Why couldn’t she move? Why couldn’t she let her deal with this? He was determined to do this _now_ , not _later_. Mikleo raised his fists and brought forth his mana, but did not summon his staff.

She did not back down despite the hinted threat. “I did that after Eizen died.”

That made him pause. He almost said that Sorey _wasn’t_ dead. Sorey would come back someday, but Eizen wouldn’t. Upon that realization, the anger faded. He knew Edna spoke from experience, he could hear the echo of grief in her voice, spot the shadows of sadness in her eyes. She yet mourned her brother, even if though she hid it well.

“He’s coming back,” he found himself saying, his hands shaking beside. This time, the tears came, unbidden. He hadn’t cried for Sorey in a long time. “I should be able. It shouldn’t be this hard.”

To his surprise, Edna hugged him. It was strange, surprising, Edna wasn’t exactly prone to personal contact of this type, let alone hugging them. But, once he got over the initial shock, Mikleo welcomed the unexpected embrace, his tears falling on her shoulder. For a moment, he felt like a child again, held by his Gramps after he had scrapped his knee or fought with Sorey. Mikleo hadn’t thought he needed a sister, but he was grateful to have one.

**Author's Note:**

> I've liked the brother and sister relation between Mikleo and Edna ever since I played the game, but a lot of the time, it's depicted as Mikleo as the older sibling (mainly because of Edna's size, I guess). But I always saw it more as the other way around. Mikleo is the younger seraph, even though he doesn't look it, and Edna has more experience (even though she's always been a younger sibling until now).
> 
> Also, while Mikleo thinks the barricade he puts up to protect himself is a "stoic" and "logical" persona, it's really not. To the other three seraphim, it's been quite obvious that Mikleo hasn't been dealing with his grief over Sorey in a positive way, he's just too prideful to actually ask for help (unless it kind of knocks him on the head with a rock). This is just the culmination of all that.


End file.
